The days are so short. So far, it isn't as bad as I expected it to be. I had this notion that I wouldn't see the sun or something. Intellectually, I knew I would, of course, but nonetheless, there is more daylight than I anticipated. That's not to say there is much, but there's enough. If it would be more consistently sunny, that would be nice. We're having a Chinook, at the moment, which is a warm Pacific trend blowing over the mountains. It's lovely. I even wore a skirt (with leg-warmers) tonight, and haven't needed to zip up my coat for a couple of days. Now this is how winter is supposed to be (in my world). I got my car's winter tires just in time ! They make driving in the vaguely mucky, slippy, slushy snow a lot easier. Who knew, you really don't need 4WD to survive winter.
Having a car is really wonderful. I guess I can afford to have next to no disposable income in exchange for freedom - or at least the sense of some liberation. Tonight, just for the heck of it, after going with Andrew to Brave New Works and Wonton soup, I took a drive. Originally in mind to see the local Christmas lights, it seems Whitehorse is a lot like Peterborough in that people's lights go off by 10pm. Yeesh. People ! It's Friday night ! Anyway, I ended up on the Alaska Highway. Having not had the chance to really try out the car (who is named Viola, by the way) on the highway, this was as good an opportunity as any. It was lovely. The gas consumption was minimal and the handling steady, comfortable, and at 120kph, it was neither terribly noisy, nor did the car feel like she was straining. I turned around at a photo point about half an hour north of Whitehorse and then came home. If I hadn't, I'd probably have driven to Haines Junction !
Before meeting with Andrew, I went and hung out at Zola's Cafe and chatted with one of my favourite people here, Meshell, a very funky, execptionally warm-hearted fabric artist. I also wandered over to Studio 204 to take in the Plastic show. I wrote about the artist, Jen Williams, in What's Up Yukon a few weeks back, so I thought I'd better see it. To get an idea of how she uses the iconic Barbie doll to highlight contemporary issues, check out her site. It's nothing new under the sun, heck, back in Grade 5, or so, I distinctly remember a Mad Magazine that featured the mock ad for Bag Lady Barbie and Wino Ken, but William's work is fun and provocative (at least in Whitehorse), and she's a lovely gal to chat with. I like articulate, unprepossessing artists.
In other news, totally unrelated to artists or driving, I'm going to hire the boys upstairs to look after Choco and Twee when I go home. I figure I'll pay them $25 each and they'll take it more seriously. I remember when I was a kid and got paid by my neighbours a whopping $30 to look after their cats. $25 each will be great for these kids, I think. And they like cats and they live right here. I will leave them a list of things that need to be done, like the litter, feeding the beasts twice a day, playing with them, etc., plus I'll leave numbers for emergencies. I'm mostly concerned that my cats keep out of trouble while I'm gone. No doubt, every drawer and cupboard will be opened every day during my absence. At least they keep each other entertained. But ohhhh, the wrecking of my things... I should probably invest in toddler locks... Well, we'll see. It won't be so bad if the neighbours are coming in and out and amusing the cats.
And now, I shall go wash off my make-up and get ready for bed. It's been a nice day off, but I'm working this weekend, so I can't stay up late or be irresponsible. Hah. You know, when I got stopped by the RCMP tonight doing a drunk drive check, I had to laugh. "Nope," said I to the cute officer who was probably straight out of the academy, "I haven't had anything to drink - except a lot of wonton soup."
Monday, December 04, 2006
In 20 days, I will be on my way home. I'll be milling around in Edmonton, in fact, waiting for my red-eye flight to Pearson International. Wow, I am really looking forward to it. As much as I like my work, the stress that comes with it (most of it unnecessary and caused by people who should know better) can keep me up at night. I'm not exaggerating. There was a point early last week, where I really felt I could just pack it all in and leave because there was no point anyway. I was having anxiety dreams and really wanted to hide from the world. My friends Owen and Andrew both seemed concerned that I really would throw my hands in the air and flee back to the South, but that is because they don't know me well enough, yet. I fight for the stuff I believe in, dig my heels in and don't let go. How was that for mixing a metaphor? At any rate, I assured them I wasn't prepared to go just yet. There are a few things I need to accomplish first, then... well, at that point, who knows? It also hasn't helped that I haven't spoken to Gareth in over a week. Not even really on-line. It's the end of semester and he's working on projects, but nonetheless, it sure would have been nice to talk to him when I was feeling so low and vulnerable.
So, I entered the week with knots in my stomach and I went out with knots in it, but a different sort of knot - the excited sort. On Thursday I finally went for a test drive of the Kia Rio5. I first inquired about the Rio5 in September. I was looking to lease in October, near the end of the month, which was when I was told it would be arriving on the lot. There were delays. Mainly, I was told, due to a strike keeping the car on a dock in Vancouver for three weeks. I pretty much lost heart. But, after being denied a line of credit at the BMO, and offered a shitty loan at the same bank, I got a line of credit at President's Choice Financial, I was free to buy a used vehicle. So I planned to do this. I made calls and inquiries and each time the car would get sold to someone else. Feeling despondent, I was just about to flip open the classifieds one more time when I saw the light blinking on my office phone. What was it? A message from the Kia dealer saying the car had arrived.
See where this is going?
On Thursday, butterflies in my stomach, I left work and headed down to the lot where the car was waiting for me. It was adorable and blue and I liked it immediately. The roads were bad, what with it being cold and snowing, so my test drive never got the car on the highway nor even over 3rd gear (it's a standard), but I liked it. It rode nicely and heated up quickly. I also got to bond with the dealer as he scraped the ice off the inside of the windshield (a very common occurance up here) with a razor blade ("Oh great, I get to test-drive the Kia to the ... hospital", I told him when he almost cut off his finger). Very neat trick. I will invest in a blade for such purposes. When I returned to the dealership, I asked him to start an application. I wanted the car. And never mind leasing - I decided I wanted to have an asset and so I would opt for financing. It's a long finance period: 5-7 years, but it has no catches, no penalties if I buy it out early.
Friday morning, the message on my answering machine at work told me I had been approved. I was thrilled. My mother had offered to co-sign if I failed the check, but I didn't want that. I passed, though, and then it was off to the insurance company to get me some. I went through the TD Bank mmmmm-something and opted for the full package and am paying a reasonable rate of 730ish bucks a year. Not too shabby. The insurance company faxed the particulars to the Kia dealer, who went down to the vehicle registration centre and even got me my plate. My mother was stunned when I told her I drove the car off the lot Friday night. Sure, it didn't have winter tires yet, nor the mandatory block-heater, but I'm taking the car in tomorrow to have both done. Now the issue is, do I go for studs on the tires or full winter tires. To have winter tires installed, I'm probably looking at $500, including labour, which is really effing expensive, but then I'll have them for next year, too. I will discuss it tomorrow. I don't really have the money at the moment, what with rent having just gone through. But... I have that line of credit, so...
THIS IS MY BABY !
It is remarkably satisfying to have to make such adult decisions ! Seriously. Sure, I won't have any disposable income for a while now, but I have the freedom to just, you know, pop out to the store, or go downtown for a drink. And that's something. That's a LOT of something.
Anyway, now I must go be responsible and get some homework done. I've been seriously falling behind. I'm about two units back from where I need to be and that makes me a little unhappy with myself, especially since it hasn't been that busy a week. Relatively speaking, anyway.
So, I entered the week with knots in my stomach and I went out with knots in it, but a different sort of knot - the excited sort. On Thursday I finally went for a test drive of the Kia Rio5. I first inquired about the Rio5 in September. I was looking to lease in October, near the end of the month, which was when I was told it would be arriving on the lot. There were delays. Mainly, I was told, due to a strike keeping the car on a dock in Vancouver for three weeks. I pretty much lost heart. But, after being denied a line of credit at the BMO, and offered a shitty loan at the same bank, I got a line of credit at President's Choice Financial, I was free to buy a used vehicle. So I planned to do this. I made calls and inquiries and each time the car would get sold to someone else. Feeling despondent, I was just about to flip open the classifieds one more time when I saw the light blinking on my office phone. What was it? A message from the Kia dealer saying the car had arrived.
See where this is going?
On Thursday, butterflies in my stomach, I left work and headed down to the lot where the car was waiting for me. It was adorable and blue and I liked it immediately. The roads were bad, what with it being cold and snowing, so my test drive never got the car on the highway nor even over 3rd gear (it's a standard), but I liked it. It rode nicely and heated up quickly. I also got to bond with the dealer as he scraped the ice off the inside of the windshield (a very common occurance up here) with a razor blade ("Oh great, I get to test-drive the Kia to the ... hospital", I told him when he almost cut off his finger). Very neat trick. I will invest in a blade for such purposes. When I returned to the dealership, I asked him to start an application. I wanted the car. And never mind leasing - I decided I wanted to have an asset and so I would opt for financing. It's a long finance period: 5-7 years, but it has no catches, no penalties if I buy it out early.
Friday morning, the message on my answering machine at work told me I had been approved. I was thrilled. My mother had offered to co-sign if I failed the check, but I didn't want that. I passed, though, and then it was off to the insurance company to get me some. I went through the TD Bank mmmmm-something and opted for the full package and am paying a reasonable rate of 730ish bucks a year. Not too shabby. The insurance company faxed the particulars to the Kia dealer, who went down to the vehicle registration centre and even got me my plate. My mother was stunned when I told her I drove the car off the lot Friday night. Sure, it didn't have winter tires yet, nor the mandatory block-heater, but I'm taking the car in tomorrow to have both done. Now the issue is, do I go for studs on the tires or full winter tires. To have winter tires installed, I'm probably looking at $500, including labour, which is really effing expensive, but then I'll have them for next year, too. I will discuss it tomorrow. I don't really have the money at the moment, what with rent having just gone through. But... I have that line of credit, so...
THIS IS MY BABY !
It is remarkably satisfying to have to make such adult decisions ! Seriously. Sure, I won't have any disposable income for a while now, but I have the freedom to just, you know, pop out to the store, or go downtown for a drink. And that's something. That's a LOT of something.
Anyway, now I must go be responsible and get some homework done. I've been seriously falling behind. I'm about two units back from where I need to be and that makes me a little unhappy with myself, especially since it hasn't been that busy a week. Relatively speaking, anyway.
